New Bike Specifications

These bikes do not have a headlamp. They have an awkward looking iron bar extending from the rear seat. They are generally covered with thousands of stickers and they tend to sound like the loudest factories in the locality.

Though they are registered as two-wheelers, the riders prefer to go on a ‘One-wheel Ride’.

Xkmph.com organised the second annual motorcycle stunt show in Kurseong, West Bengal, on December 26, 2010. The ‘One-wheel Ride’ is one of the most awaited stunt shows in the hills of West Bengal and Sikkim.

The show had some of the finest stunters from Kurseong like Wang, Rohin, Prawesh, Ananta and Kunal. They were representing the Kurseong xKmph stunting community. The team performed some excellent stunts and tricks that were lustily cheered by the crowd. The major attraction of the show turned out to be the official stunters of xKmph, Milan Pradhan and Monu. The duo kept the audience on their feet as they carried on with breathtaking stunts one after the other. Wheelies, stoppies, rolling stoppies, one-hander stoppies, high chairs, human compass and donuts, all came quite easily from the duo.

With proper gear and protection we had a super fun session of volunteers to ride as the stunters’ pillion as they performed stoppies and wheelies. Both of them used several bikes from different makers and performed some adventurous stunts even with multiple pillion riders.

One of the additions to this year’s show was the inclusion of ‘daCyclist.com’ members. DaCyclist.com was launched in mid-2010 as a sister Website of xKmph.com. It is aimed at bringing a greener lifestyle into existence by promoting the use of bicycles. One-wheel Ride was a good opportunity to showcase the hidden talent of this community. Three cyclists from daCyclist.com performed beside the biking stunters. Dhiraj, Rana and Sunny performed everything that our bikers had performed on the motorised variants.

The message that everyone carries at xKmph is quite simple, be it stunters, tourers or even pillions: ‘Ride hard, ride safe and always wear a helmet’.

Every year hundreds of Royal Enfield faithfuls, or ‘Bulleteers’ as we fondly call them, converge upon Goa for a two-day carnival, a more impressive bikers’ meet compared to any other in the country. This year Royal Enfield graciously provided me with a Classic 350, the possession of which would make me a Bulleteer and thus enable my entry into this elite echelon comprising solely Bullet riders. To get there, I teamed up with Pune’s famous Bullet club, the Roadshakers.

Upon reaching Vagator in Goa I followed Praveen Sathaye, the Royal Enfield chap, who took me to the Cochicos resort, a quaint little resort that had been booked for the media. After a quick dinner with other members of the media, I turned in early in anticipation of an exciting day ahead.

The next day began with a sumptuous breakfast, after which I went for my first view of the main Rider Mania venue. A huge area enclosed by red and black banners, the venue was divided into five main parts – the eating area, the stage, exhibitions, screening area and shops selling various Royal Enfield merchandise.

At the far end, glistening chrome beckoned and I made my way over there to feast on some exquisitely modified Bullets. It was uplifting to see the creativity of these Indian builders, who, despite being handicapped by the unavailability of custom parts, have carved out a niche for themselves in the second largest motorcycle market in the world.

As in previous Rider Mania editions, there were a host of events designed for the people to showcase their riding skills. The first one was the ‘figure of eight’ wherein a team of four riders were to carve the aforementioned figure in a small area without putting down their feet even once. Local lads Faizal, Sunil, Arun and Prajyot from Café Bullet Goa clinched the event.

In the ‘slow race’ event, Café Bullet Goa kept up the winning spree with Arun dominating the event, followed by Junaid from Bengaluru. As evening descended, Bengaluru-based Indian rock band Thermal and a Quarter took the stage by storm, belting out one chart-buster after another from their considerable repertoire of hits.

For those who had honed their riding in the dirt, Rider Mania 2010 didn’t disappoint. In the dirt track event the next day, Roadshakers (Pune) dominated the event in its totality-Baljeet Gill in the 500cc category and and Pravin Patil in the 350cc category respectively. the armwrestling competition for both the sexes was another huge draw,being the ideal platform for the hardened Bulleteers to flaunt their carefully chiseled brawn. Tejas Dutta from Delhi won the men’s event while Shannon from the host state itself utterly ruled the women’s round.

The camaraderie and joy and jollity at this superbly orchestrated event has to be seen to be believed. Events like these are a regular occasion in foreign countries and Royal Enfield deserve to be commended for not only concentrating on selling bikes, but also endeavouring to provide the riders a common platform where they can come together and mingle. And now, if you will excuse me, I am off to the gym to pump some iron for the next year’s event!

Ravi Chandnani visits Ego Custom Wheels in Navi Mumbai to take a look at their creation customised for a Bollywood celebrity. Here are his impressionsPhotography: Sanjay Raikar

Ravi Chandnani visits Ego Custom Wheels in Navi Mumbai to take a look at their creation customised for a Bollywood celebrity. Here are his impressionsPhotography: Sanjay Raikar

Ego Custom Wheels is the brainchild of Jignesh Mistry and Rannvijay Singh. They started this venture because everything related to bikes and biking formed a common bond between the two friends. Since then both of them and their team have been working hard to ensure that they build bikes that would stand apart from the crowd. The motorcycle featured here is an excellent example of how things should be done in a neat manner. This Royal Enfield has been customised for the famous film director-producer and writer Vipul Shah, who has directed films like ‘London Dreams’, ‘Namastey London’ and the latest, ‘Action Replay’. Being a Bollywood personality Vipul Shah was not concerned about the expense involved and asked the chaps at Ego to build for him a bike that would stun everyone. This meant Jignesh and company had complete creative freedom. Many brainstorming sessions later Jignesh and Rannvijay came to the conclusion which is evident in these pictures. Let us explore the fine details that make this bike such a beauty.

Design Even a cursory look makes it clear that this bike is not an average custom bike. Its low, long and huge stature may look intimidating at first, but one needs to move closer to understand the beauty of it. The fine details include custom-made parts and hand-made fuel tank along with custom wheels that were done in-house and tyres that were especially ordered from the United States. These, combined with four to five months of hard labour, resulted in a spectacular piece of rolling art.

The front fork was sourced from the Pulsar 220, but the triple trees were modified to make them sturdy enough to handle the additional width of the tyre. The forks and the triple trees are finished in chrome to complement the blue and silver front fender. The headlamp cone housing the projector lamp is also a bespoke piece and was not lifted off an auto-rickshaw. The flowing stature of the bike is precise and is quite evident when you look at the tank, seat and the rear fender, which flow in a beautiful curvaceous line. The tank has been hand-beaten and carved into this beautiful tear-drop shape. And the surprising thing is that there aren’t any undulations even on the belly of the tank. It is one of the best elements of this bike. At the end of the tank you will notice a chrome component sticking out, which is actually the air-filter, which rises upwards through a recess at the back of the tank.

The seat and side panels are elegantly blended together with the tank, cleverly hiding the battery box and the wiring. The biggest piece of body work you will notice on this bike is the rear fender, which has been hand-made in order to accommodate the biggest tyre ever on a custom bike in India. Hold your breath for this – a humongous Avon Venom that has a mind-boggling width of almost one foot! Custom wheel and spacers were created in order to accommodate this giant tyre, sprocket and the brake rotor. Small details such as the handlebar grips, air-filter cover, gear-shifter linkage, handlebar and the rear swingarm were all done in-house by the fabricators at Ego Customs. Almost all the components on the bike were custom-made or modified in-house. All this hard work and detailing have been highlighted by a shimmering shade of blue, which is accentuated by the use of silver paint with metal flakes specially imported from Singapore. A sky-blue outline completes the simple yet elegant paint job. The finishing is also top class. Minimal use of chrome on select components has resulted in a well-balanced appearance.

The Ride Well, I have to admit that this is a very heavy bike, but somehow I was able to move it around without starting it. At first the ride might feel a little slow, but you need to open the throttle in order to let it roll smoothly. The riding posture is surprisingly similar to that in a cruiser, but with a lowered handlebar. The front end is quite heavy because of the huge front alloy wheel. However, it does not bother you much in a straight line. It’s round the corners that you really have to work your arm muscles to keep the front balanced. Being a bike equipped with a 500-cc motor, it feels sluggish and that is because of the huge 300 rear section tyre. The building team at Ego insisted that it was an important design element and also that the client loved it. Otherwise, the ride is very similar to that of a normal Bullet, save for the fact that riding it on the road attracts a lot of attention! While riding it on the Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai I had a number of people slow down next to me and click snaps of the bike in motion with their mobile phone cameras. They also asked me a number of question about the bike. It makes you feel like a celebrity and that, I think, may be the reason why Vipul Shah chose Ego Custom Wheels for the job. I feel it is time many of the so-called custom bike builders learned a thing or two from Ego Custom Wheels in terms of quality, finish and concept. These youngsters have been able to change the way custom bikes are made in the country. Nevertheless, I shall recommend to our readers to check the bikes for themselves before jumping to a conclusion as it would give you a better idea of what can be done in terms of customising a motorcycle.

About Ego Custom Wheels

The bunch of guys at Ego Custom Wheels are all passionate bikers, who always wanted to stand out of the crowd. So, to fulfil this longing they all came up with the idea of starting their own enterprise that would churn out custom bikes of high quality with hand-crafted components. Jignesh Mistry and Rannvijay Singh, the face of MTV Roadies, a VJ and a die-hard biker, started Ego Custom Wheels with a clear aim – delivering bikes that they themselves would like to spend money on. They formed a team comprising a skilled fabricator a hard working mechanic and a few helping hands without whom the team would be incomplete. This hard working association of individuals has been able to entice many rich and famous people from various walks of life and their first big client has been Vipul Shah, the Bollywood producer-director. Apart from this, Ego Custom Wheels have also been active in modifying cars for many Bollywood flicks. So, if you are interested in transforming your everyday workhorse into a rolling piece of art, then you may get in touch with Jignesh on 09819850069 (e-mail: Egocustomwheels@gmail.com)

After a hard day on the road, a group of Bedouins return following the shiny star and head for the most sacred beverage known to mankind – coffee! Sounds like a complete mismatch, because, one, bikers fly and not walk like the Arab wanderers, two, coffee wouldn’t be the first thing they’ll reach for after giving the migrating birds a run for their worms and, three, if you can see my bias towards coffee then you’re absolutely correct. Pune isn’t the Mecca of bikers for no reason. Twisties at a meagre distance of 20 clicks, biking groups, a fine array of bikes to be heard and seen as the biker unleashes the fury of the machine and, guess what, dedicated cafés too!

The next time you find yourself in Bavdhan or surroundings, visit The Moto Café to know why. Coming from the style-sheets of Nikhil Sood, an IT professional and an enthusiastic rider of the Royal Enfield Machismo, the café caters to all those who like to look around as they sip their coffee and cheer for Rossi in the final lap. “My rider buddies on their way to the ghat for a tiny spin must have a good place to assemble,” says Nikhil.

The first step under the shed and the wall on the left flaunts 1:12 scale models of some of the finest bikes so far. Nikhil must have feared kleptomaniacs, for these models are tied to the shelves. Looking at it from the right is a collage of caricatures and sketches and upstairs you can give that strained back some relief as you lie on the couches. The arch looks down on the chairs below, but, hey, the real sight is right behind where you sit: a whole wall full of best moments captured from MotoGP races to produce bhp beyond insanity. You have coffee table books, games, PS3 with another LCD TV, automotive magazines and, of course, some lip-smacking delicacies and beverages too. A glance at the menu-card is enough to give you a good idea. For me their mushroom cheese panini tops the list.

Race evenings at the café are a treat with bikes of all makes and sizes standing in the parking lot, numerous eyes riveted to the same large-screen TV, collective howls and claps and seasonal discussions over the riders.

So, the next time you wish to flood your veins with some gasoline and do it the biker way, you know where to find us.

Seventy-three days after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder, The Doctor returned to the track at Misano Adriatico aboard a Ducati 1198 Superbike. The purpose of the test was to ascertain the status of his shoulder which, though recovering nicely, is still quite painful, just a few days ahead of the first test in Malaysia with the Desmosedici GP11.

“First of all, thanks to Filippo (Preziosi) and to Ducati, who organized this test,” said Valentino Rossi. “Misano Circuit let us use the track on a day when Mattia (Pasini) was planning to ride in order to confirm his own condition. The track more or less confirmed what we expected: the shoulder is painful—especially under braking, when the front area hurts, where they stitched the tendon. Movement is stable enough, and we’re also doing not so bad with endurance, but apart from that, it hurts a lot and isn’t very strong. Let’s hope it gets a little better in these next few days before the test in Malaysia. Once we’re there, we’ll work with the riding position in an effort to make the most of the situation and collect important information with the Desmosedici, even though I’m not in top form. Today I did a total of 25 laps on the 1198 Superbike, which is sort of a ‘historic’ motorcycle for Ducati: beautiful and fast. I liked it!”

Seventy-three days after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder, The Doctor returned to the track at Misano Adriatico aboard a Ducati 1198 Superbike. The purpose of the test was to ascertain the status of his shoulder which, though recovering nicely, is still quite painful, just a few days ahead of the first test in Malaysia with the Desmosedici GP11.

“First of all, thanks to Filippo (Preziosi) and to Ducati, who organized this test,” said Valentino Rossi. “Misano Circuit let us use the track on a day when Mattia (Pasini) was planning to ride in order to confirm his own condition. The track more or less confirmed what we expected: the shoulder is painful—especially under braking, when the front area hurts, where they stitched the tendon. Movement is stable enough, and we’re also doing not so bad with endurance, but apart from that, it hurts a lot and isn’t very strong. Let’s hope it gets a little better in these next few days before the test in Malaysia. Once we’re there, we’ll work with the riding position in an effort to make the most of the situation and collect important information with the Desmosedici, even though I’m not in top form. Today I did a total of 25 laps on the 1198 Superbike, which is sort of a ‘historic’ motorcycle for Ducati: beautiful and fast. I liked it!”

Its out! Ducati Corse has released the first pictures of Valentino Rossi in their colours, posing with his Desmosedici GP11 bike at their annual pre-season ‘Wroom’ event. Rossi has retained the flouroscent green colour on his leathers but its a fashion disaster combined with Ducati’s red. And his Bike has it too! The number ’46’ on the nose is of course flouro-green along with the seat border, tank and the tail piece.

Nicky Hayden meanwhile has paired the red with black this year. The AMG logo is also present on both Rossi and Nicky hayden’s bike and leathers. The bright livery of Rossi’s bike is a reminisce of his wild paintjobs during the 125cc and 250cc days with Aprilia. Hope he rides so too.

Its out! Ducati Corse has released the first pictures of Valentino Rossi in their colours, posing with his Desmosedici GP11 bike at their annual pre-season ‘Wroom’ event. Rossi has retained the flouroscent green colour on his leathers but its a fashion disaster combined with Ducati’s red. And his Bike has it too! The number ’46’ on the nose is of course flouro-green along with the seat border, tank and the tail piece.

Nicky Hayden meanwhile has paired the red with black this year. The AMG logo is also present on both Rossi and Nicky hayden’s bike and leathers. The bright livery of Rossi’s bike is a reminisce of his wild paintjobs during the 125cc and 250cc days with Aprilia. Hope he rides so too.

Why is it that powertrain evolution in motorcycles has not kept pace with that in motor-cars? Were attempts made to devise bikes with front-wheel or both-wheel drives? Intrigued by these questions, Piyush Sonsale decided to dip into motorcycle history. As he garnered fascinating information, he also got in touch with companies involved in such innovations overseas to get a complete picture

“Now I know how owls feel,” I thought to myself as my head pointed towards the corner exit and my body swayed laterally out of control with the bike. Legs stuck in ankle-deep slush, the helmet visor still mud-stained from my last fall, I struggled to find traction on the rear wheel of my bike while the spectators witnessed my helplessness. Finally, I steered out of my misery by stepping out and pushing the bike. Well, my first off-road experience on a motorcycle wasn’t exactly, er, smooth, but it gave birth to an idea in my head. What if motorcycles were all-wheel driven? Now, most of us have seen the wonders of all-wheel drive cars on YouTube and sported a 4 X 4 vehicle wallpaper on our desktops some time or the other, but, as they say, you don’t get it till you do it. So back to the question. As Leonardo DiCaprio says in ‘Inception’, “What’s the most resilient parasite? An idea!” I was possessed by the idea and had enough faith in human curiosity to believe that such experiments had been done in the past and, maybe, some exist even now. I was right.

Wiping the dust off motorcycle history, I found a treasure-trove of what can only be called marvellous engineering feats. Before getting nerdy, however, let’s find out what this ‘drive’ term I have been using means. The ‘powertrain’ (engine-transmission-countershaft-final drive) transmits the engine’s power and torque to the wheels. The wheels transmit the same to the ground by spinning and as a reaction the motorcycle moves. Conventionally it’s the rear wheel that gets the honour and is said to be ‘driven’. The front wheel in this case is called a ‘dead wheel’ as it only steers (directs) the motorcycle.

There are three ways in which motorcycle wheels can be powered or ‘driven’: a) rear-wheel drive (RWD), b) front-wheel drive (FWD), and c) all-wheel drive (AWD). Among these, the rear-wheel drive system is the only one conventionally used in on-road, off-road and even racing prototype bikes. However, in this article we are concerned with the unconventional, with experiments that never made their way to the mainstream. Let’s examine why.

All-wheel drive (AWD)The all-wheel drive system is probably a communist idea since it involves distribution of the engine’s power and torque to both the wheels of a vehicle. But the distribution of power may not be equal. A capitalist intrusion? Well, whatever the case, the AWD gives pulling power to both the wheels and amazing climbing and off-roading ability to the vehicle.

The second chainpowering the gearbox onthe frame

The under tank gearbox and shaft drive

There are two types of AWD systems: i) Both the wheels are constantly driven. ii) The front wheel is powered only when the rear one loses traction. Used only to regain traction.An American brand called Christini has developed a mechanical linkage to power the front wheel. Their patented technology makes use of a combination of chain and shaft linkages to transmit the engine’s power and torque to the front wheel. They use a second chain drive apart from the one powering the rear wheel. Mounted on another countershaft sprocket, this chain powers another gearbox located on the frame. A shaft drive from this gearbox, passing from under the fuel tank, enters the head tube of the bike. Counter-rotating bevel gears then pass the power to the lower triple clamp. A chain-sprocket mechanism in the triple clamp further passes the power by rotating two telescopic counter-rotating shafts. These run down the length of the forks and finally transfer the engine power to the front wheel. Phew!

The bevel gear mechanisn in the head tube which allows angular linkage in the front powertrain

The chain- sprocket mechanism in the lower triple clamp and the counter rotating shafts it powers

Approximately 80 per cent of the engine’s power is transmitted to the front wheel and is used to regain traction when the rear wheel slips. Otherwise, under normal conditions, one-way clutches in the front wheel hub keep the front wheel passive. Christini use this mechanism to modify frames and forks of standard rear-wheel driven KTM and Honda off-roaders and sell these modified frame kits under their brand-name. The mechanism, though complicated, is the only one available in a production line and their decent success in the arena of off-road motorsport has proved its worth.

Suzuki’s 1985 2wd concept, the Falcorustyco

The Nuda, showcased in 1986

Another interesting innovation and, perhaps, one of the most successful implementations of a mechanical all-wheel drive system has been done by an American firm called Rokon. They were the first to make the concept digestible and offer a whole range of two-wheelers based on the same. The first Rokon concept, the ‘Trail-Breaker’, was tested in the late 1950s and later evolved into a three bike production range. The Rokons are, shall we say, a mutated motorcycle sub-species aptly called ‘Mototractor’, characterised as they are by a huge but simple chassis design and chunky off-road tyres like the ones seen on tractors and industrial cranes.

First production Rokon — the ‘Trail-Breaker’

Rokon offers a host of accessories such as side panniers or a front tray to suit your purpose

The Japanese giant Suzuki were the first to play with the hydraulic AWD idea. They displayed a dummy concept bike, called the Falcorustyco, at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1985. A year later, they came up with a GSX-R750-powered concept, called the Nuda, which actually worked.

Yamaha and the Austrian brand KTM have also developed their own hydraulic solution to power the front wheel of a bike. The Yamaha system, called 2-Trac, was developed along with suspension maker Öhlins. The system had been under development since 1985 and was tested on various models, mostly off-roaders. A 2-Trac-powered YZF R1 was also tested and showed noticeable improvement in lap times on a race track. The system uses a chain drive to power the rear wheel while the front isdriven by a hydraulic motor in the wheel hub. The KTM version has a similar design and also shares the technology partner (Öhlins) with Yamaha, but the two bike-makers have separate patents for their respective innovations.

However, the most ground-breaking innovation I came across was the Australian inventor Ian Drysdale’s Dryvtech 2x2x2 concept. The third 2 is not a typographical error. The Dryvtech was a 2 (wheel) X 2 (wheel drive) X 2 (wheel steered) motorcycle! It had a specially built 250-cc, two-stroke internal combustion engine as the main powerhouse. The engine actuated a hydrostatic (positive displacement) pump, which pressured hydraulic oil through steel tubes. This oil transmitted the engine’s power and torque to both the wheels by actuating a hydraulic motor located in the wheel hubs. The all-wheel steering system also used hydraulics to steer both the wheels, but the handlebar-to-wheel ratios varied for both the wheels. The rear wheel turned a little late to allow the front wheel counter-steer in a turn.The list of innovations does not end here. The brakes worked using the hydraulic system used to drive the wheels, both wheels had single-sided swingarm with monoshock suspension and the wheels were concave, depressing in towards the hub on the side where the hydraulic motor was attached. The Dryvtech 2x2x2 was a working prototype and, at a basic level, proved most of the theories of its creator. Sadly, it never underwent further development or production and the prototype exists as a museum exhibit at the Donnington motor museum in the UK.

AWD Hypothesis

Reduction in power wastage as power is distributed between both the wheels

Reduced wheel spin, tyre wear

Increased climbing ability due to increased traction

Benefits in racing: Tighter corners, increase in corner speeds. Lesser high side crashes

Benefits in off-roading: More traction, faster jump recovery

Reduction in power wheelies

Reality Check

Complex design

Increase in weight, mass

Complexity in division of power and splitting torque

Leakage and resultant part failures a big area of concern where the system is hydraulic

Difficult to repair, high maintenance cost

Increased production cost

One of the very few surviving Megolas

Front-wheel drive (FWD)Here, the front wheel is the protagonist; it steers as well as drives the bike while the rear (dead) wheel follows. FWD systems have been tried and tested on motorcycles by modifying rear-wheel drive bikes, but the innovation that intrigued me was an attempt back in the 1920s. A motorcycle called Megola was produced in Germany for a brief period between 1921 and 1925. Although not very efficient mechanically, it was a production model and was popular for its ground-breaking design. The Megola had a 640-cc, five-cylinder Gnome Monosoupape (single-valve) rotary engine as seen in World War I fighter planes with radially arranged cylinders. It produced almost 15 PS of power in the standard version and over 25 PS in the sport version, attaining speeds upto 140 kph. The engine was mounted in the front wheel (between the spokes) and the cylinder valves were mounted sideways on the cylinder heads. The axle doubled up as the crankshaft, which remained stationary while the cylinders rotated radially with the wheel. Furthermore, the crankshaft was hollow and also served the purpose of the inlet manifold.

The Megola’s front wheel-mounted engine

The bike had no flywheel, no clutch nor a gearbox. The engine was fired by spinning the front wheel and stopped by switching the ignition off. The fuel was stored in the frame and fed a reservoir located over the axle. Fuel from this reservoir was then fed into the engine by gravity. The tyre tube was like a sausage (closed at both ends), so it could be pulled out without dismantling the wheel assembly. And the air striking the rotating cylinders cooled the engine as the bike moved. Genius!About 2,000 Megola bikes were produced, but only a handful survive today.In 1935, a group of German engineers (Killinger and Freund) created a front-wheel drive prototype by modifying the Megola design to improve its handling, aerodynamics and reduce engine weight. However, their production plans never materialised on account of the outbreak of World War II. This makes the Megola the only production FWD motorcycle ever made.

FWD Hypothesis (Based on the Megola)

Greater traction under braking and otherwise too as the heavier front end loads the front wheel to increase tyre contact patch

Better handling due to low centre of gravity, especially in racing. (The Megola won the German Motorcycle Championship in 1924)

Less lateral movement of the front wheel is required to maintain balance as the centre of mass is closer to the front wheel

Reduction in rear wheel slides round corners as the front wheel is powered

Lesser power losses in the powertrain

Reality Check

The wheel-mounted engine increases unsprung weight (mass not supported by the suspension) and adds greater load on the suspension, reducing braking force and acceleration. Also the undulations on roads may damage the engine

Heavy steering as the front wheel is heavy

Since the centre of mass is near the front wheel, the rear end is lighter, which may result in frequent stoppies while braking

OverviewMy find gave rise to a question: are motorcycles less fascinating than cars? My mind immediately cried out, ‘No way!’ Then why is it that ever since Gottlieb Daimler gave us the first motorcycle, the basics have not changed much while all the three drive systems (front, rear, all-wheel) have steadily evolved in cars? The answer is that bikes are not flexible enough. It’s the whole two-wheel business. Motorcycles evolved from bicycles and the basic geometry remains the same. Lateral movement of the front wheel is easiest by using forks since the front swingarm linkage has a complicated mechanism. Transmitting power to the front wheel while allowing it a free lateral movement is difficult and the powertrain losses are heavy.Motorcycle chassis are built to be supported by two wheels, which puts restrictions on the weight and mass of a motorcycle. In order to counter the gyroscopic, inertial and centrifugal forces, motorcycles have to lean in the direction of the turn. So a bike needs to be thin, especially at the wheel level.The simplest solution to all these was to power only the rear wheel. Motorcycle design and ergonomics evolved with this geometry. So did the way motorcycles are ridden. Billions were then spent in refinement. Hence the extra bit of traction was not worth the increase in weight, complexity and expense. However, with giants like Yamaha and KTM working on such systems, it won’t be wise to rule out the possibility completely. For the time being, though, I had better learn off-roading!

BIKE India Editor and his brother team up to design an exhaust system to juice up the FZ

The Yamaha FZ 16/FZ-S is one amazing street fighter. It has a low end grunt which every enthusiast loves in the urban scenario. Flicking the bike around the city chaos and getting the torque from the engine with a slight wring of the right wrist makes it the perfect urban tool. But then, the bike lacks a bit in the higher revs. A biker is not going to be riding in the city all the time. He will sneak out on weekends and do some highway runs. It goes without saying that he will also head towards the mountain roads where the FZ will do uphill climbs around the bends of the ghat sections. This is where the bike suffers a bit. It is strong enough till 5000 revs but after that it becomes a bit tough for the bike to match the expectations of an aficionado.

To solve this very issue and make the biker happy anywhere and everywhere he travels, BIKE India Editor Aspi Bhathena and his brother Sheri Bhathena sat down to design a free flow exhaust system. After tackling quite a few things, a completely new exhaust system was made which included the bend pipe as well as the end canister. The front bend pipe has been given a proper tuned length. The end can, unlike a regular free flow exhaust, has a specific degree and a newly calculated diameter and volume. This has resulted in a uniquely customized system that, as we expected, performs much better than the stock one.

It definitely impressed me once I rode the bike up and down the Dehu Road stretch. Pinning the throttle, the rev counter showed the needle going all the way past the redline and that too pretty freely. The engine didn’t feel stressed at any time throughout the rev range. In fact once past 5000rpm, unlike the stock FZ, the bike with the custom exhaust revs more happily. With the least amount of hesitation, the bike revs more in each gear giving a better top speed in every gear and this finally reflects in the top speed of the bike. To gauge the difference in the performance of the new exhaust and the stock one, we carried the stock exhaust along as well. Testing the same FZ with two different exhaust systems back-to-back left us with baffling results. The data recorded by our testing equipment showed that the stock bike managed 0-60km/h in 6.5 seconds where as the one with the free flow exhaust crossed the same mark in merely 5.2 seconds. (The figures of the stock bike are different from the one we tested earlier since this was a used bike and tested in a different environment than the one that we rode during our road test).

Even the top speed of the FZ has gone up considerably from 110km/h (true) to 114.7 km/h (true). While delivering the performance, the sound level has also been kept as low as possible for the free flow exhaust. Though it is louder than the stock one, it is not at all annoying for the rider, the pillion or the people around them on the road and in the neighbourhood. Apart from the performance gain achieved on the FZ, another modification has been done to the bike giving it a better braking ability. The rear disc break unit from the Pulsar 220 has been installed on the bike to improve the overall braking at higher speeds.

For further details and to buy one of these for your very own FZ, contact: Prakash Kunthe +91 9822442911 Sheri Bhathena +91 9850057477 Pramod +91 9422080811

NOVEMBER 2018

2017 KTM 390 Duke First Impression

Kawasaki Ninja ZX 14R Bike India review

SPECIAL Featured Story

The BMW G 310 R and G 310 GS have finally been launched in India after a year of teasers, delays, and speculations. The two Bavarian motorcycles have joined the 300 cc capacity single-cylinder market, which is a small but well sought-after segment.

Latest News

Subscribe to Car India

Bike India: India’s no. 1 two-wheeler magazine

BIKE India covers the two-wheeler industry in its entirety, both from the local and the international perspective.
Also delivers the most definitive verdict on machinery and performance by explaining the hows, whys, and whats on every new bike in a lucid and user-friendly manner. BIKE India is the India’s most authoritative two-wheeler publication, a magazine for people with a passion for bikes and everything to do with their history and heritage.
SiteMap